Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm posting a little early this weekend and just want to give a big thanks to everyone who is reading and commenting. It's a real pleasure working on this story again. :)

Chapter 19:

"I'm using the grenade!"

Jounouhi slammed his palm on the button as Kaiba continued firing at the aliens on the screen. A massive explosion blew away the remainder of the enemies, and the screen moved forward into the next room, showing a clip of their two characters [a guy and a girl in business suits] rushing forward. The dialogue was literally the worst Jou had ever heard, but the terrible voice acting made it hilarious. He and Kaiba both reloaded and aimed at the screen, waiting for the final boss to appear. Soon, a monstrous, slimy creature came out of the antagonist's body, and the second the dialogue ended, the sounds of Kaiba and Jounouchi opening fire on the enemy filled his ears.

Together, they managed to beat the boss in under a minute's time with only Kaiba losing one life after an attack from a summoned monster. The final cutscene played out, and both men set the guns back in the holsters, a "Congratulations" screen quickly appearing in green font.

Sighing in content, Jou glanced around. They had spent the morning at a smaller arcade that didn't have much to offer [Mokuba lamented how the website showed much more than was available], so rather than wasting time, the trio had opted for an early lunch, then headed to the largest arcade Jounouchi had ever been in. Three stories tall, he saw every fighting, racing, shooting, and simulation arcade game he could think of. The third floor contained the tabletop games like air hockey, pool, and the like. Jou and Kaiba were on the second floor with the shooter games, while Mokuba was also somewhere on the second floor seeking out an old mech fighting game he liked as a kid.

Jou looked over to see Kaiba surveying the line of games to their left and right. The CEO seemed to be on a crusade to dominate every game in the room, for the duo had basically run down the line of shooting games and beaten every one, four now in a row. Jou was starting to get tired of them, however, and shrugged before holding his card of currency up. "I'mma find a racing game ta take a break with," he noted. "Unless you're up for somethin' different."

Kaiba nodded and said, "That works for me. I need to find Mokuba."

"A'ight. Meet you guys in the fighting section, then?"

"Sure." Jou watched as Kaiba broke off, heading down the line of games, before heading himself along the opposite wall towards a set of Formula 1 racers. Sitting in the seat, he swiped his card and picked his driver, letting the timer run out slowly as he reflected on the day.

His breakfast had been less than stellar, Kaiba's point on the caloric intake of the buffet being made poignantly clear. It seemed the brothers had had a good breakfast, though, as Mokuba excitedly described their delicious crepes (whatever those were) while Kaiba put in an order for their arcade cards. It was pouring down rain, so they had walked quickly from one location to another, but not before borrowing umbrellas from the hotel.

The small arcade held mostly racing games, which Mokuba and Kaiba tackled while Jounouchi watched. Kaiba kept giving Jounouchi looks and asking if he wanted to play, but Jou would pass, happy and entertained watching the two competitive brothers go at it. The idea that Kaiba seemed concerned with Jounouchi wasn't lost on him, however, and Jou was internally ecstatic when, upon arriving at the second arcade, Kaiba immediately asked if the blonde wanted to help him beat one of the gun games. He covered it by saying it was much easier to win when Jou could take hits, but Jou wasn't oblivious. Kaiba asked him to join in a game. Seto freakin' Kaiba, arrogant loner extraordinaire.

It's a step, he thought as he placed his foot on the pedal and began driving the car along the race track.

The race was quick given that no strangers had opted to join in, and so Jou stood once he finished in 2nd place and made his way down the aisle towards the fighting section. The place was packed with tourists who wanted shelter from the rain, but it wasn't hard to find the Kaiba brothers given the amount of people staring in the duo's general direction.

Jounouchi frowned and came to a halt. It was the first time on their trip that Jou noticed others looking at the brothers like the celebrities they were, and it made him squirm. He himself had gotten a few stares, being still high up in Duel Monsters rankings, but he knew he didn't compare to Yami Yuugi or Seto Kaiba. It was mostly young girls, too, that were shooting the CEO looks, giggling and waving to him as though they were at a bar. Kaiba, for his part, was ignoring them entirely. He wondered if he should approach the Kaiba brothers or leave them alone. He didn't want to make things worse for them, after all. But as he went to make a decision, Mokuba turned, caught sight of him, and waved him over. Jou did so, ignoring some stares. As he approached, however, he saw Kaiba looking over Jou's shoulder and turned to see those who had been staring break away, returning their focus to the games in front of them. "Tactless idiots," Kaiba muttered.

"Yeah, I've been noticing them staring for awhile," Mokuba remarked. Looking up at Jou, he asked, "Nobody's given you a hard time, right?"

"Nah. I'm more worried 'bout you guys. You're the celebs, after all."

"I'm not gonna lie, it's kind of annoying," replied Mokuba. "It's what I was hoping we would avoid when I chose this boardwalk. Supposedly enough celebrities come here to make it kinda commonplace, but..."

"You can't predict what others will do," noted Kaiba, who was looking down at his brother. "It doesn't help, though, that we're indoors and thus easier targets. Just let them be."

"I guess…"

"Besides, now's a good time to practice."

Mokuba blinked and frowned. "Huh?"

Kaiba smirked and looked up at Jounouchi. "Onlookers want something easy. So let's make it difficult for them."

A devious smirk crossed Jou's lips as Kaiba spoke impeccable English, obviously to Mokuba's chagrin. "Ahh, I got ya," Jou replied, switching to English as well. "Sure, it's enough to get a glimpse of the CEO of KaibaCorp, but if they hear ya sayin' somethin' they don't understand, they're gonna walk away."

"It doesn't always happen, but it works well enough to give it a try," Kaiba answered. Mokuba looked back and forth, frowning in confusion.

"Uh… I think know what is go on," he stuttered.

"'I think I know what is going on,'" Kaiba corrected. "Now let's pick out another game…"

"Yo Mokuba, let's do one of them shooting games you sit in the seats for," Jou noted, pointing towards a Jurassic Park-themed box.

"I'm not very good at shoot...shooting games," Mokuba stated as he tried to mimic Jou's response. His eyes brightened up, however, as he asked, "But do you and Seto want together play?"

Jou glanced up, and Kaiba shrugged. "It'll keep them from staring at me for a few minutes…" Kaiba noted. Turning on his heel, he began heading towards the machine, and Jou and Mokuba followed suit. Jou leaned down and took his seat under the black ceiling of the box. The massive screen was in front of him depicting pixelated dinosaurs, while the plastic machine guns were built into the divider in front. Speakers were set behind the plastic seating. Kaiba took his seat next to Jou as Mokuba peeked inside.

"Meh, this looks boring," Mokuba noted, switching back to Japanese. "I'mma head down to the pinball machines. Meet you guys there?"

"Sounds good," Kaiba answered. Jou watched as Mokuba ran off, and Kaiba smirked as he swiped his card in the reader before turning to look at Jou. "Kid will avoid English practice at every opportunity, but he wants to go to London."

Jounouchi laughed, half in shock at the humorous statement from the CEO. Continuing in English, he pointed out, "Yeah, well, he gets all the stares then."

"True." Kaiba leaned forward and peeked out of the box before returning to his seat, smirking victoriously at Jou. "At least those girls aren't looking our way anymore."

"Guess that's one use for all the languages ya know. I never thought about usin' English to get outta interviews. I'd tell Yuug' to try it out, but his English is, uh, worse than Mokuba's."

"It works on occasion, but then American paparazzi find you and proclaim they know you speak fluent English, so you can't escape them, either. It's a double-edged sword."

"I bet if you blended 'em and spoke in like three languages at one time, those girls'd think you were insane."

"Yes, and that would create the opposite effect. I need them to go away, not run to the media about me."

"Yeah… But, I mean, if they do go to the paparazzi-"

"I meant what I said when I told Mokuba we can't control what they do," Kaiba remarked. Jou briefly noted that the game was running, waiting for them to press the Start button to initiate. They had already paid, after all. "I do my best to ignore them. They will say something about me, then move on the next day to somebody else. It just is what it is. So long as they don't harm me or threaten Mokuba, there isn't much I can do."

"I'm honestly kinda surprised it took this long for someone to blatantly stare at ya," replied Jou as the two leaned forward, taking control of the guns and pressing the Start buttons. "I mean, we've been goin' out to eat a lot."

"There probably were people staring, but again, we've been outside a majority of the time, including the amusement park," noted Kaiba. "I imagine there will be images on some magazine cover when we return of me in my swimsuit."

"Is that why you wear the top with your swim trunks? To keep the chicks from droolin' over ya? Been wonderin' 'bout that, to be honest."

"That...is part of it." Kaiba edged forward in his seat. "Come on, let's wrap this game up. We've been sitting here awhile."

Jounouchi nodded and began aiming at the dinosaurs on screen, reflecting on the fact that he quite possibly had his first normal, casual conversation with the CEO of KaibaCorp.

It took two more groups of staring girls, with one duo staring at Mokuba, for the trio to decide enough was enough. An hour before dinner, Mokuba made the call to return to the hotel. It also didn't help that the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and so the trio rushed their way back, making the executive decision to stay in the hotel the remainder of the night. They had returned the umbrellas, dried themselves off, and eaten dinner before watching some television and reading. It wasn't until around 20:00 that Mokuba brought up the idea of some games, and Kaiba brewed a pot of coffee to relax.

Now sitting on the floor in the living room of their hotel room, with the sound of the heavy rain and rumbles of thunder outside, Kaiba snorted and hid his face behind his cards as Jounouchi slammed a card down, shouting "Aw yeah, Moon Viewing!"

Mokuba glanced over with tired eyes and deadpanned. "Jou, that's not… That's not the correct flower."

"Nyeh?!" Kaiba watched as Jou compared his card to the cheat sheet they had on Mokuba's phone. As the blonde looked back and forth, Kaiba peeked over at Mokuba, perking his eyebrow up to indicate his amusement. Mokuba sat on the sofa playing the Switch, peeking up every so often to see their game, while Jounouchi sat on the opposite side of the coffee table from Kaiba, holding his hanafuda cards in his hand and growling in irritation. He had demanded Kaiba teach him the game so he could beat Mokuba, and, to Kaiba's utter shock, he heard himself acquiesce before he could take back the offer. It only took one round for Kaiba to find Jou's problem; while Jounouchi was picking the basics of the game up, he was also dramatically playing into mistakes. "Aw, dammit, I thought that was-"

"And now I know you have that card, so I'll just play this and get Chaff," Kaiba countered, slamming his card down. "And I avoid calling Koi-Koi, which means I get a single point and end the round."

"Man, what the heck. Why's this game so complicated?"

"It's not. It's just learning pictures, Jounouchi."

"All right, all right, let me try again." Jounouchi shuffled the deck and passed out the cards before laying out the eight needed for the round. Pulling the cheat sheet closer, he scanned it, looking back and forth with determination. Kaiba peeked at his own cards, then looked across the coffee table.

It felt somehow normal. Almost...comforting. Sitting with Jounouchi, playing a game. Mokuba watching. The sound of rain. The lights inside illuminating their surroundings, and the smell of coffee in the air. He watched as Jounouchi slowly organized his hand of cards. Would this be what we did if we...ever dated? Kaiba frowned and looked back down at his own hand of cards. And would I be opposed to this?

Given that this was their fifth round and Kaiba felt no need to stop, he thought he had his answer. Another point to add to Mokuba's laundry list of reasons. I have never felt comfortable around another person beyond my previous two partners, but this...seems fine. Even in the arcade, when I purposely spent time with him to see how long it would take for me to get tired of being around him. That...never happened. The fact that, four days ago, Kaiba had felt barely comfortable being in the kitchen with Jounouchi made the current reality that much more startling. When did everything change?

"Alright, I'm ready!" Jou declared.

"Finally," Kaiba muttered, laying down his first card to swipe before drawing the top card of the deck. Back and forth the two went, and while Jou made the occasional slip, Kaiba could see him putting the pieces together. It was curious to watch, and Kaiba realized the blonde was just as stubborn as him at every game, not just Duel Monsters. Recalling the games at the arcade and their conversation in English, Kaiba could only concede on yet another of Mokuba's points.

In the end, Kaiba still won the round, but he was being forced to avoid Koi-Koi for more points in order to keep Jou from gaining opportunities. As he shuffled the deck for the next round, he looked across the table at the blonde, who was smiling and reading over the cheat sheet. His amber eyes scanned line by line of the cards, and he kept flipping the page back and forth on the phone. Cute came to mind, and Kaiba stopped shuffling to take a sip of his coffee, hating but being unable to deny his observation.

As he set his coffee down and shuffled out the cards, he glanced over and blinked in surprise before smirking. "That couch is dangerous, I see," he muttered, motioning over when Jounouchi gave him a curious look. The two looked to see Mokuba passed out, head resting on a pillow, Switch still operating in his hand. Jounouchi giggled at the sight.

"Man, it's taken out all three of us," Jou remarked. "Oi! Mokuba!" Waving his hand in front of Mokuba's face, Jou sighed when the younger Kaiba squirmed just slightly but otherwise remained sleeping. "You better get a refund for that. They didn't warn us about such a devastating enemy bein' in our hotel." Kaiba smirked and sipped his coffee again before watching Jou play his first card. After he played his own card, he took another large sip, finishing off the cup, and watched Jou play another card. "I'm honestly surprised you're drinking coffee this late at night," Jou suddenly said, keeping his voice down. "You planning to be up late tonight?"

"Coffee relaxes me," answered Kaiba as he played his own card. "I enjoy the smell and the taste, and I will often make it decaf at night to keep from staying awake. Unless, of course, I need to be up through the night." Kaiba suddenly frowned; why did he feel the need to defend or explain his actions?

And once again, I just spoke without even thinking about something personal.

"For work, ya mean?"

"Yes." The two continued playing their cards, keeping their voices low so as not to disturb Mokuba.

"Does that happen often?"

"More so than I'd like, but only because of the international divisions. If I need to be present at a meeting or a conference call, I need to be awake."

"And ya don't nap ta make up for that time?"

"Not typically, no."

"Damn, man." Growling when Kaiba called Koi Koi at a win, he added, "So was it a work thing that got you up early the other morning?"

"No, it…" Mentally biting his tongue, Kaiba inhaled and slowly exhaled. "That was just an anomaly."

"Hmm… Well, I haven't told him," he said, pointing at Mokuba, who was still passed out cold. "A promise is a promise, after all."

Kaiba slowly nodded and played out the round, winning a good amount of points and ending the game. Setting the cards to the side, he glanced over at Mokuba to find him still sleeping. He sighed and stood before reaching down and slowly, very slowly, wrapping his arms underneath his brother, setting the Switch to the side in order to do so. Lifting him and grunting, remembering that Mokuba was no longer a child and therefore rather heavy, he carried his brother to their bedroom and set him down on the bed, not liking the idea of Mokuba falling asleep on the sofa. Mokuba shifted once he felt the bed, and Kaiba was half afraid he had woken up his younger brother. But Mokuba turned, grabbed the pillow, and sighed, falling back asleep within seconds.

Mokuba… He recalled their conversation from earlier, then looked back at the door to their bedroom, which was ajar. He really wants me to give the blonde a shot...to give this a chance.

Standing, Kaiba looked down at himself. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt and pair of jeans, along with his necklace and watch. He looked fine. He ran his hand through his hair, the rational arguments from their conversation playing over and over in his mind. The games in the arcade had pushed their discussion from his thoughts, distracting him from making a choice. But now, he was stuck. He had to move forward, one way or the other, with his knowledge of the blonde's crush on him. Dammit, Mokuba, how is it that you convinced me this might actually be something worth pursuing? Because if I'm actually going to do this… It's going to have to be sooner rather than later. We have tonight and tomorrow night. Then, it's back to Domino City. Back to work, meetings, reality.

He looked at the clock on the nightstand. 21:00. He looked himself over one more time, then inhaled and exhaled. Sure… Okay. Might as well give this a chance. See what Mokuba sees in us potentially being together. It'll put my curiosity to rest, at the very least.

Ignoring the fluttering in his chest, he turned on his heel and exited the bedroom, catching sight of Jounouchi putting the empty coffee pot in the sink. Looking around, he saw that Jou had also put the cards away and that the Switch had been turned off and placed back in the charger. Mentally nodding and committing himself to this insanity, he returned his attention to Jou. "Jounouchi," he said, getting the blonde's attention. Jou blinked and looked up, tilting his head to the side and waiting. "Have you ever played billiards? Pool?"

"'Pool'?" Jou repeated. "Yeah, man, I love pool. I used ta play with Honda all the time before Duel Monsters really took off. Why?"

Pointing upwards, Kaiba explained, "There are private pool halls that we're able to rent upstairs. I know we've played quite a few games today, but I also suspect we won't want to play tomorrow while preparing to pack our bags." Crossing his arms over his chest in the hopes of appearing as confident as possible, he asked, "Are you interested in playing a few rounds? Obviously just you and me."

Jounouchi's eyes widened in shock, and the smile across his lips cut through Kaiba. It was different seeing Jounouchi's enthusiasm now that he understood the blonde's true emotions; Kaiba wondered if the request had perhaps made the blonde's day. The idea that it might have done so made Kaiba feel...odd. Not in a bad way, but in a way Kaiba hadn't felt in a long, long time. "Sure, man!" Jou exclaimed. "That'd be awesome. Finally, a game I might actually kick your ass in!"

Scoffing at Jou's enthusiasm, Kaiba walked forward and grabbed the keycards from the island as well as a piece of paper and a pen. "You seem rather confident in yourself," he noted, writing out a short note telling Mokuba where they would be in case the boy woke up. He smirked, reread his note, then added, "Remember, this was your idea."

"Hmph, we'll just see, Kaiba," Jounouchi taunted.

"That we will." Setting the pen and paper down, he made sure he had the keycards, then followed Jounouchi out the door. Time to see if this is a possibility even worth pursuing…